Penelope and Verwood’s story begins in the seaside resort of Brighton made famous by the Prince Regent. On the left is the East Front of the Pavilion from Views of the Royal Pavilion, by John Nash, 1826. To the right is a transitional view of the Pavilion as it would have appeared c. 1817.
The Music Room where the heat, the red walls and the dragons convince Pen that she
has descended into Hell. Of course, the fact that Verwood appears to be flirting with a
dashing widow at the time has nothing to do with it!
Visit the Royal Pavilion website to
learn more about Prinny’s pleasure palace.
While in Brighton, Pen goes sea-bathing. Below is a depiction of sea-bathing, showing the bathing-machines (sort of like dressing rooms on wheels) being drawn into the water by horses.
Once they are married, Verwood takes Pen to his home on the rugged northern coast of Cornwall. Their home, Tregaron House, is somewhat modeled after the very beautiful Trerice House, pictured below.
Pen rescues an orphaned seal pup on a nearby beach. For the purposes of my
story, "Tegen" was healthy at the time of rescue - basically because I like happy endings
and Pen would have been miserable if the pup had not survived. In real life, rescued seal pups
are often suffering from injuries or disease. Sometimes even antibiotics and modern
medicine cannot save them. Happily, the
National Seal Sanctuary in Cornwall has many success stories to relate. I visited it
years ago whilst living in the United Kingdom and recommend a visit to anyone in that area
of the country. Also, if you get a chance, dine or stay at the
Trengilly Wartha Inn. The atmosphere, the
food and the ale are all excellent!
Various ancient stone structures on Verwood’s estate are the setting for some of the later events of the story. Below are Lanyon Quoit on the left and Trevethy Quoit on the right.
You can find more excellent pictures of these and many other fascinating “old rocks” (as my husband affectionately calls them) at Megalithics.
